Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-11-25
Matters of Interest Selected
Especially for the Lit
tie Readers.
THE SUNFLOWER CHORUS.
Interesting Bit of History about the
Habits Of Some Singular Ani-
mals of South america.
Some Singular l...,n.a,s of South amcr,co.

Some Singular Aaip,als Of South -1n,crico.
Australia, as we have seen, has its
ornithorhynchus and it's kangaroo, and
New iceland its wingless birds. An
other example of this partial distribu-
ton of animals is found in South
America, which is exclusively the home
of the sloths, armadillos and great ant
eaters. The sluggish animals belong
to the order, edentata foothless), which
is so called from the fact of its mem
bers having no true teeth.
The strangest thing about the sloths
Is that they pass their whole life hang
Ing from branches of trees with their
backs downward. The structure of
the body is especially fitted for this
peculiar position, and scarcely admits
OF any other; so the sloths hang there
day and night, even while they sleep,
trusting to the grasp of their strong,
curved claws. Sloths feed upon the
leaves and young shoots of trees, and
rarely descend to the ground if they
can avoid doing so. In dense forest
they can readily swing from the
branches of one tree to another in order
to find fresh supply of food, and in
thus changing their abode they often
take advantage of q time when the
boughs are swayed to and fro by the
wind. But so great is their aversion to
coming to the ground, that when the
trees are standing too far apart to be
reached in this ingenious manner, the
sloths will devour every particle of
foliage on the tree upon which they are
hanging before they leave it to climb
into another.
These singular animals are clothed
with dull, thick hair, much the color of
the bark and moss; so they are with
difficulty distinguished among the leafy
branches, and are much safer than on
the ground. where they. have great diff
Guilty in walking, as their curved feet
and long claws prevent their treading
fairly on the bottom of the foot. For
this reason they are obliged to step on
the side of the foot, and the sole is
turned toward the body. Owing partly
to this defect, and partly to the fact
that their forelimbs are much longer
than the hind ones, their gait is ex-
tremely slow and laborious. Seen I'M
der these circumstances, the sloths APP
pear to deserve the name they have re-
ceived; but when really at home in the
tree-tops Of their native forests they
climb about among the branches with
great ease, and their movements arc not
then particularly slothful.
Armadillos, on the other hand, are
burrowing animals, and their strong
claws are used for digging in the earth
These creatures are chiefly remarkable
for their thick coat of mail. which con-
ssts of hard bony plates united at their
edges. One of these plates covers the
head, another the shoulders, and q
third protects the hinder parts OF the
body, while between these last two
shields there is number OF movable
plates of the same bony material ex-
tending around the body like bands,
and allowing it to bend freely. When
these animals are attacked they bur
row rapidly into the ground. Some
species roll up into ball, thus securely
protecting themselves At such times
the head and tail are drawn close to-
gether, and tucked snugly into little
crevice where the two extremities of
the shell meet, and the result is hard,
solid ball, which may be rolled about
and trampled upon without injury.
Still another phase of life is shown
by the great ant-eater, an animal four
or five feet in length, with large bushy
tail, which is sometimes thrown over
its body as a shade from the sun, or
which may be used to protect it from
the cold. Its long jaws are covered
with skin, except at the end, where
there is an opening through which the
worm-like tongue is thrown out. The
ant-eater, as well as the slotn, has
curved claws, and it also walks upon the
side of its foot. This curious animal
feeds almost entirely upon the white
ants. 1t tears open the ants nests
with its strong claws, and as the in
mates rush forth from their hiding
place in alarm, the huge invader thrusts
out its long sticky tongue, and swallows
the multitude Of ants adhering to it.
This operation is repeated again and
again with surprising rapiuity, and
large quantities Of ants are thus de-
voured.
Not only is this order of toothless
animals peculiar to South America in
the present day, but here are found
likewise most of the fossil remain, of
oxt;pcf a n n,o1v &c III. +x,., o. 4.